Bottle-washing machine.



PATENTED 001*. 13, 1903. N. GLAB. BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 11, 1902. V

3 SHEETfi-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

rue ummus warn-u cu whom-m No. 741,241. PATENTBD'OGT. 13, 1903.

N. 'GLAB.

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED DEOJll, 1902.

s SHEETS- 511231: 2.

no MODEL.

liiflezzzziv PATENTED OCT. 13, '1903.

N. GLAB. BOTTLE WASHING'MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 11, 1902. v

s SHEETSSHEET.3.

N0 MODEL.

No. 741,241. Patented October 13, 1963.

llnirriio STATES arnnr Orricn.

NICHOLAS GLAB, OF DUBUQUE, IOWA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO THE BOTTLERS SPECIAL MACHINERY COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLI- NOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BOTTLE-WASHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 741,241, dated October 13, 1903. Application filed December 11, 1902; $erial No. 1341814. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.- An endless carrier is arranged to travel Be it known that I, NICHOLAS GLAB, a citiaround the frame guided in the guideways zen of thcUnited States,residing at Dubuque, in the sides, and it consists of a pair of link in the county of Dubuque and State of Iowa, belts 16 16, each comprising a number of have invented certain new and useful Imlinks pivotally connected together by pins 17, 55

provements in Bottle-\Vashing Machines, of which extend entirely across the machine and which the following is a specification. beyond the belts and carry antifricti on-rollers This inventton relates to bottle-washing 18 18 on their ends in the guideways in the machines; and its object is to provide an ausides. The links of the two belts are arranged 1o tomatically-operating machine of simple but in opposition, and each is provided on its up- 60 substantial construction and large capacity per side with a guide 19, through which and which will thoroughly cleanse and rinse the the link extends an opening 20, for a purpose bottles after they are placed on the carrier hereinafter described. and without further attention on the part of The crate for holding the bottles during the the operator. washing operation maybe made in a variety 65 IVith these and other ends in View the inof ways which will answer the purpose of the vention consists, essentially, of a crate for invention. In the drawings I have shown a holding the bottles, a traveling carrier to recrate of simple construction which consists of ceive the crates and carry them one at a time a bottom plate 21, a top plate 22, and a number into washing position, a revolving washer arof stai shaped posts 23, arranged between the 70 ranged to be thrust into each bottle while at plates and all held together by bolts 24:. The the same time a jet of water is discharged posts space the top and bottom plates apart, therein, means for rinsing the bottles after and by reason of their radially-projecting the washing operation, and means for autoflanges 23 the plates are always kept in proper matically actuating the carrier to move it inposition and all liability of the crate buckling 7 5 termittently after each washing operation. is prevented. The top plate is provided with I have illustrated one way in which my ina series of openings 25 to receive the bodies of vention can be embodied in the accompanying the bottles, and the bottom plate has a corredrawings, in whichsponding series of sockets 26 to receive the tops Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the bottles, these plates being sufficiently 8c taken on the broken line 1 1, Fig. 2, showing separated and the sockets 26 beingof sufficient a crate of bottles in washing position. Fig. 2 depth to provide for holding the bottles seis a sectional view 011 the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. curelyin place in thecrate. Iprefer,however, Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line to lock the bottles in the crate and for this pur- 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4: is a top plan view of the pose provide the blocks 27 which are fastened crate for holding the bottles and showing the on the top plate 22 by the bolts 24. These unlocked position of the locking device in blocks are provided at their upper ends with broken lines. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view a slideway formed by the inwardly -turned of the valve '76 and its connections. flanges28to receive the locking-plate29. This 40 Referring to the drawings, in which like locking-plate is provided with lateral projecnumerals of reference indicate corresponding tions 30, arranged to engage the bottoms of the parts in the several figures, 10 10 designate bottles in the crate when the locking-plate is the two sides of the machine, which are held adjusted. I provide a handle 31 on the locktogether by the tie-rods 11 and the cross-plates ing-plate, wherebyit can be easily adjusted 5 12 13 and form the frame of the machine of in the slideways, to carry the projections 30 a substantially elliptical shape. Each side into locking position above the bottles or to of the frame is provided with a guideway carry them to one side of the bottles, so that '14 14 by grooving the face thereof or making the latter can be removed. At the ends of the side of angle-iron and arranging a facingthe bottom plate of the crate are sockets 32 5o strip 15 thereon, as shown in Fig. 2. to receive the hollow guides 19 on a pair of 1. o

links, and when the crate is arranged in place on these guides it will be carried along by the carrier into washing and rinsing positions successively and then to the discharge end of the machine, being held rigidly in place thereon by its own weight.

The carrier is moved step by step by the actuating-arms 33, mounted on a rock-shaft and the large gear 62.

34, which also carries the arm 35, provided on its end with an antifriction-roller working in the grooved cam 36 on the cam-shaft 37. The power-shaft 38 carries a belt-pulley 39 and is geared with the upright shaft 40, which in turn is geared with the worm-shaft 41, the latter carrying a worm 42, which operates a worm-gear 43 on the cam-shaft. Each of the actuating-arms 33 is provided at its upper end with a pivoted finger 44, which has a socket 45, arranged to receive the pivot-pins 17 of the carrier, these fingers operating in the space between the sides of the frame and the link belts of the carrier, Fig. 2. The fingers are constantly pressed upward by springs 46, so that when the actuating-arms are carried backward to feed the carrier forward a step the fingers will slide under the.

next pivot-pin 17 until this pin rests in the socket 45, whereupon, the arm having reached the limit of its movement and the rock-shaft being rocked in the opposite direction, the fingers will push the carrier along until they reach the position shown in Fig. 1. This operation of the actuating-arms is entirely automatic and takes place at the end of the washing operation, so that immediately after the bottles have been washed the carrier will be moved to bring another crate of dirty bottles into washing position and carry the crate of bottles just washed into rinsing position, the several operations being properly timed so that each will be completed without interfering with the other. The power-shaft is journaled in hearings on the cross-plate 13, and both of the cross-plates 12 and 13 extend entirely across the machine and are fastened to the sides. The upright shaft 40 is journaled in hearings in the two cross-plates 12 and 13, and the worm-shaft 41 is carried by a bracket 41, which is fastened to the crossplates.

The washing mechanism comprises a plate 47, fastened to the water-chest 48 by the bolts 49. Tubes 51 are arranged in packing-boxes 51 on the top of' the water chest and communicate with the chamber therein and project upward through the plate 47 and carry the driving-gears 52 and'the driven gears 53, A hollow spindle 54 is fastened to each of the tubes 51 and carries at its upper end a brush 55, which is normally held in a depending guide-tube 56, fastened to across-plate 57 at the top of the machine. The Water-chest is guided on the stationary rod 58 and the upright shaft 59,which are mounted in the crossplates 60 60. The shaft 59 is driven by the upright shaft 40 through the small gear 61 A gear 63 is splined to the shaft 59 and meshes with one of the intermeshing gears 52, with each of which one of the gears 53 is rigidly connected, so that all of the gears 53 in each series thereof will be simultaneously operated to revolve the spindles 54 and the brushes while they are being moved upward into the bottles and while they remain therein and are being withdrawn.

The vertical movement is imparted to the washing mechanism by means of the levers 64, pivoted on a rock-shaft 65 and adjustably connected to the washing mechanism by the links 66. This rock-shaft 65 is operated by an arm 67, which travels against a cam 68 on the cam-shaft 37 I prefer to make this cam with several projections somewhat in'the form of a star, as shown in Fig. 1, so that during one washing operation the brushes will be carried several times from one end of the bottle to the other, and thus provide for thoroughly cleansing the bottles; but this cam may be otherwise formed, if desired, to increase or lessen the movements of the washing mechanism.

To insure that the bottles shall be in perfect alinement with the guide-tubes 56, so that the brushes may enter them without obstruction, I provide guide-rods 69 at each end of the washing mechanism and arranged to move upward with the washing mechanism and pass through the hollow guides 19 on the links. These guide-rods are themselves guided in bosses 70 on the plate 57 and also in the plate 60, so that they will always be held absolutely true. The lower end of the opening in the guides 19 is flared, so that if by chance the links are not in exact position the guide-rods may enter the hollow guides and in so doing move the links and the crate carried thereby,

so that the bottles will be correctly alined with the brushes. 1

The rinser consists of a water-chest 71, which is supported on the sides of the frame justin advance of the plate 57, so that when the carrier moves forward after the washing operation the crate of washed bottles will be carried into position above the water-chest 71, with the mouths of the bottles alined with the jet-openings 72. At the same time that the crate of washed bottles is carried into rinsing position a crate of unwashed bottles will of course be carried into washing position, and the water is turned on to the washing mechanism and the rinser at the same time, so that while the. unwashed bottles are being washed the previously-washed bottles will be rinsed. The water is automatically turned on and off as the washing mechanism is raised and lowered, so that the water will be squirted into the bottles only while they remain at rest, and while the carrier is moving the water will be turned off. To this end I connect a water-supply pipe 7 3 by a threeway connection with the rinser-water chest by-a pipe 74 and with the washer-water chest by a flexible hose 75. A three-way valve 76 IIC is located in the supply-pipe, and a rod 77,

, pivotally connected with the water-chest 48 or on and off as the washer mechanism is raised and lowered and in this way Waste of water is prevented.

The capacity of the machine is controlled entirely by the speed of operation and the size of the crate for which it is constructed. The machine may of course be adapted to receive crates holding any particular number of bottles, and in the drawings I have shown an eighteen-bottle crate; but this size is not arbitrary. The machine operates automatically after it is once started and with comparative rapidity and requires no attention on the part of the attendant. The crates are simply filled with bottles and arranged by the attendant on the carrier at one end of the machine, and after the bottles have beenwashed and rinsed the crate will be lifted off of the carrier at the other end of the machine by another attendant. The attendants may be unskilled boys, for it requires no special skill to place the crates on the carrier and take them off.

I have shown and described a carrier consisting of two link belts connected and operating together, but I do not limit myself to this particular kind of carrier nor to the exact construction of the frame illustrated. The links of the carrier, however, constitute satisfactory supports for the bottle-holders, and the pins pivotally connecting the links of each belt with the corresponding links of the other belt work together, so that the crate or holder will be carried into proper position for the washing operation with the bottles properly alined with the brushes. The guides on the links keep the crate or holder in position and the guide-rods operating with the Washing mechanism adjust the crate and the carrier into true position for the washing operation if the crate should not be properly alined for any reason. The guide-rods also prevent lateral movement of the crate and carrier during the Washin g operation, and as the bottles are locked in the crate there is no possibility of their slipping out of the proper position during this operation. In practice the guides on the links will probably be sufficient to position the crate, but I prefer to employ guiderods to make this positioning absolutely certain.

I have shown two arms for moving the carrier, but it may be found that one will be sufficient. The washing mechanism is counterbalanced by adjustable weights 64 on the outer ends of levers 6st, fastened to rockshaft 65 and forming in effect extensions of levers G4. The washing mechanism is simple and compact, and the operatin ggears are held in place on their tube-axles between the plate 47 and the stuffing-boxes 51.

Fire machine, as shown and described, is of elliptical shape and the carrier is arranged to travel in an elliptical orbit, but the exact shape of the frame and the orbit of travel of the carrier are not necessarily of this character, and it will not be understood that I restrict the invention'by using the word elliptical to the exact construction of the frame and movement of the carrier shown and heretofore described.

Without limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts. herein shown and described, I claim 1. In a bottle-washing machine, the combi nation of a crate for holding a number of bottles inverted, washing mechanism, and a carrier inclosing and traveling in an elliptical orbit around the washing mechanism and adapted to receive and carry the crate of bottles into washing position above the washing mechanism.

2. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of a crate for holding a number of bottles inverted, an intermittently-operated carrier traveling in an elliptical orbit in a vertical plane and adapted to receive and carry the crate of bottles into position for the bottles to be washed, and intermittently-operated washing mechanism arranged within the orbit of travel of the carrier and adapted to be projected upward through the carrier into the bottles.

3. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of a crate for holding a number of bottles inverted, washing mechanism, an intermittently operated belt carrier traveling around the washing mechanism and comprising two link belts adapted to receive and carry the crate of bottles into washing position, and guides on the links of said belts for holding the crate.

4. In a bottle-washin g machine, the combination of a crate for holding a number of bottles inverted, washing mechanism, an intermittently-operated carrier traveling around the washing mechanism and comprising two link belts adapted to receive and carry the crate of bottles into washing position, guides on the links, and sockets on thecrate to receive the guides of oppositely-disposed links.

5. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of a crate for holding a number of bottles inverted, washing mechanism, an intermittently-operated carrier traveling in an elliptical orbit around the washing mechanism and adapted to receive and carry the crate of bottles into washing position above the washing mechanism, and means carried by the washing mechanism for alining the carrier and crate together during the washing operation.

6. In a bottle-Washing machine, the combination of a crate for holding a number of bottles inverted, washing mechanism, an intermittently-operated carrier traveling in an elholding a number of bottles inverted, an in-.

termittentlyoperated carrier. for receiving the crate of bottles and carrying it into position for the bottles to be washed, guides 011 said carrier for holding the crate, and devices to engage said guides and aline the carrier and crate together during the washing opera tion.

8. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of washing mechanism, a crate for holding a number of bottles, an intermittently-operated carrier for receiving the crate of bottles and carrying it into position for the bottles to be Washed, hollow guides on said carrier, and guide-rods carried with the wash ing mechanism and arranged to pass through said hollow guides and aline the carrier and crate together during the washing operation.

9. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of Washing mechanism, a crate for holding a number of bottles, an intermittently-operated carrier for receiving the crate of bottles and carrying it into position for the bottles to be Washed, said carrier comprising two link belts, and guide-rods arranged to pass through the links on which the crate rests and through openings in the crate to aline the carrier and crate together during the washing operation.

10. In a bottle-washing machine,'the combination of a crate for holding a number of bottles inverted, an intermittently-operated carrier traveling in an elliptical orbit and adapted to receive and carry the crate of hottles into washing position, washing mechanism located within the orbit of travel of the carrier and comprising brushes and means for projecting the brushes upward through the carrier into the bottles, and means carried by the washing mechanism for alining the carrier and crate together during the washing operation.

11-. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of a crate for holding a number of bottles inverted, an intermittently-operated carrier traveling in an elliptical orbit and adapted to receive and carry the crate of hottles into washing position, washing mechanism comprising awater-chest, revoluble tubes connected with said water-chest, spindles connected with said tubes and carrying brushes to enter the bottles, means for guiding the spindles and brushes, and means for moving the water-chest vertically to cause the brushes to enter the bottles.

12. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of a crate for holding a number of bottles inverted, washing devices adapted to be projected up into the bottles, a rinser located in advance of the washing devices, an intermittently-operated carrier traveling in an elliptical orbit in a vertical plane entirely around both the washing devices and the rinser and adapted to receive and carry the crate of bottles into washing and rinsing positions successively.

13. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of a crate for holding a number of bottles inverted, an intermittently-operated carrier traveling in an elliptical orbit and adapted to receive and carry the crate of bottles into washing and rinsing positions, Washing devices located within the orbit of travel of the carrier, means for projecting the washing devices up through the carrier into'the bottles, a rinser located in advance of the Washing devices Within the orbit of travel of the carrier and comprising a water-chest having openings in its top, and means for simultaneously discharging jets of water into the bottles being Washed and the bottles above the rinser.

14. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of means for holding a number of bottles inverted, an. intermittently-operated carrier traveling in an elliptical orbit and adapted toreceive and carry the bottle-holder into position for the bottles to be washed and rinsed, washing mechanism and a rinser located wholly within the orbit of travel of the carrier, said washing mechanism comprising brushes and means for projecting the brushes up through the carrier into the bottles, said rinser comprising a water-chest, and means for automatically supplying water to the washing mechanism for washing one set of bottles and to the rinser-chestfor rinsing the previously-washed set of bottles.

15. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of means for holding a number of bottles inverted, a carrier traveling in an elliptical orbit and adapted to receive and carry the bottle-holder into position to be Washed, and washing devices comprising holloW spindles, brushes carried by said spin- IIO dles, gears for rotating the spindles and a water-chest communicating with the spindles, guides for the Washin g devices, means for raising and lowering the washing devices, means for automaticallyturning on and off the Watersupply as the washing devices are raised and lowered, a vertical shaft forming one of the guides for said washing devices and means for operating the same, and a gear on said shaft arranged to operate the spindle-gears.

16. In a bottle-washing machine, the combination of means for holding a number of bottles inverted, a carrier traveling in an elliptical orbit and adapted to receive and carry the bottles into position to be Washed,

washing devices and means for raising the same to enter the bottles, a rinser, a watersupply pipe connected with the washing deings to receive the bodies of the bottles and the other plate having sockets to receive the tops of the bottles, and a slidable lockingplate arranged to engage the bottoms of the bottles to lock them in the plates.

18. A crate for holding a number of bottles comprising two skeleton plates connected together, and a slidable locking-plate provided with lateral projections to engage the bottoms of the bottles to lock them in the crate.

NICHOLAS GLAB.

Vitnesses:

WM. 0. BELT, HELEN L. PECK. 

